Pre-colonial period Taiwan was joined to the Asian mainland in the
Late Pleistocene, until sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago. Human remains and
Paleolithic artifacts dated 20,000 to 30,000 years ago have been found. Study of the human remains suggested they were
Australo-Papuan people similar to
Negrito populations in the Philippines. Paleolithic Taiwanese likely settled the
Ryukyu Islands 30,000 years ago although other studies suggest no genetic contribution from the aborigines of Taiwan into Ryukyuans.
Slash-and-burn agriculture practices started at least 11,000 years ago. Stone tools of the
Changbin culture have been found in
Taitung and
Eluanbi. Archaeological remains suggest they were initially hunter-gatherers that slowly shifted to intensive fishing. The distinct
Wangxing culture, found in
Miaoli County, seemed to have initially been gatherers who shifted to hunting. Around 6,000 years ago, Taiwan was settled by farmers of the
Dapenkeng culture, most likely from what is now southeast China. These cultures are the ancestors of modern
Taiwanese Indigenous peoples and the
originators of the
Austronesian language family. Trade with the
Philippines persisted from the early 2nd millennium BCE, including the use of Taiwanese
jade in the Philippine jade culture. The Dapenkeng culture was succeeded by a variety of cultures throughout the island, including the
Tahu and
Yingpu; the Yuanshan were characterized by rice harvesting. Iron appeared in such cultures as the
Niaosung culture, influenced by trade with China and
Maritime Southeast Asia. The
Plains Indigenous peoples mainly lived in permanent walled villages, with a lifestyle based on
agriculture,
fishing, and
hunting. They had traditionally
matriarchal societies. Penghu was evacuated in the 15th century by the
Ming dynasty as part of their
maritime ban, which lasted until the late 16th century. In 1349,
Wang Dayuan provided the first written account of a visit to Taiwan. By the 1590s, a small number of Chinese from
Fujian had started cultivating land in southwestern Taiwan. Some 1,500-2,000 Chinese lived or stayed temporarily on the southern coast of Taiwan, mostly for seasonal fishing but also subsistence farming and trading, by the early 17th century. , built in 1634, was the
governor's residence in
Dutch Formosa. In 1624, the
Dutch East India Company (VOC) established
Fort Zeelandia on the coastal islet of Tayouan (in modern
Tainan). When the Dutch arrived, southwestern Taiwan was already frequented by a mostly transient Chinese population numbering close to 1,500. The VOC encouraged Chinese farmers to immigrate and work the lands under Dutch control and by the 1660s, some 30,000 to 50,000 Chinese were living on the island. Most of the farmers cultivated rice for local consumption and sugar for export while some immigrants engaged in deer hunting for export. In 1626, the
Spanish Empire occupied northern Taiwan as a trading base, first at
Keelung and in 1628 building
Fort Santo Domingo at
Tamsui. This colony lasted until 1642, when the last Spanish fortress fell to Dutch forces. The Dutch then marched south, subduing hundreds of villages in the western plains. built in 1665 during the
Kingdom of Tungning period Following the fall of the Ming dynasty in Beijing in 1644,
Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) pledged allegiance to the
Yongli Emperor and attacked the Qing dynasty along the southeastern coast of China. In 1661, under increasing Qing pressure, he moved his forces from his base in
Xiamen to Taiwan,
expelling the Dutch the following year. The Dutch retook the northern fortress at Keelung in 1664, but left the island in 1668 in the face of indigenous resistance. The Zheng regime, known as the
Kingdom of Tungning, proclaimed its loyalty to the overthrown Ming, but ruled independently. However,
Zheng Jing's return to China to participate in the
Revolt of the Three Feudatories paved the way for the Qing invasion and occupation of Taiwan in 1683.
Qing rule (1683–1895) , originally built as Fort Provintia by the Dutch, was rebuilt under Qing rule. Following the defeat of
Koxinga's grandson by an armada led by Admiral
Shi Lang in 1683, the Qing dynasty formally annexed Taiwan in May 1684, making it a
prefecture of Fujian province while retaining its administrative seat (now Tainan) under Koxinga as the capital. The Qing government generally tried to restrict migration to Taiwan throughout the duration of its administration because it believed that Taiwan could not sustain too large a population without leading to conflict. After the defeat of the Kingdom of Tungning, most of its population in Taiwan was sent back to the mainland, leaving the official population count at only 50,000, including 10,000 troops. Despite official restrictions, officials in Taiwan solicited settlers from the mainland, causing tens of thousands of annual arrivals by 1711. A permit system was officially recorded in 1712, but it likely existed as early as 1684; its restrictions included only allowing those to enter who had property on the mainland, family in Taiwan, and who were not accompanied by wives or children. Many of the male migrants married local Indigenous women. Over the 18th century, restrictions were relaxed. In 1732, families were allowed to move to Taiwan. By 1811, there were more than two million Han settlers in Taiwan, and profitable sugar and rice production industries provided exports to the mainland. In 1875, restrictions on entering Taiwan were repealed. hunting deer, 1746 Three counties nominally covered the entire western plains, but actual control was restricted to a smaller area. A government permit was required for settlers to go beyond the
Dajia River. Qing administration expanded across the western plains area over the 18th century due to continued illegal crossings and settlement. The Taiwanese Indigenous peoples were categorized by the Qing administration into acculturated aborigines who had adopted Han culture and non-acculturated aborigines who had not. The Qing did little to administer or subjugate them. When Taiwan was annexed, there were 46 aboriginal villages under its control, likely inherited from the Kingdom of Tungning. During the early
Qianlong period there were 93 acculturated villages and 61 non-acculturated villages that paid taxes. In response to the
Zhu Yigui settler rebellion in 1722, separation of aboriginals and settlers became official policy via 54 stelae used to mark the frontier boundary. The markings were changed four times over the latter half of the 18th century due to continued settler encroachment. Two aboriginal affairs sub-prefects, one for the north and one for the south, were appointed in 1766. During the 200 years of Qing rule in Taiwan, the
Plains Indigenous peoples rarely rebelled against the government and the mountain Indigenous peoples were left to their own devices until the last 20 years of Qing rule. Most of the more than 100 rebellions during the Qing period, such as the
Lin Shuangwen rebellion, were caused by Han settlers. Their frequency was evoked by the common saying "every three years an uprising, every five years a rebellion" (三年一反、五年一亂), primarily in reference to the period between 1820 and 1850. Many officials stationed in Taiwan called for an active colonization policy over the 19th century. In 1788, Taiwan Prefect Yang Tingli supported the efforts of a settler named Wu Sha to claim land held by the
Kavalan people. In 1797, Wu Sha was able to recruit settlers with financial support from the local government but was unable to officially register the land. In the early 1800s, local officials convinced the emperor to officially incorporate the area by playing up the issue of piracy if the land was left alone. In 1814, some settlers attempted to colonize central Taiwan by fabricating rights to lease aboriginal land. They were evicted by government troops two years later. Local officials continued to advocate for the colonization of the area but were ignored. , constructed in 1884, was part of the
Walls of Taipei. The Qing took on a more active colonization policy after 1874 when Japan
invaded Indigenous territory in southern Taiwan and the Qing government was forced to pay an indemnity for them to leave. The administration of Taiwan was expanded with new prefectures, sub-prefectures, and counties. Mountain roads were constructed to make inner Taiwan more accessible. Restrictions on entering Taiwan were ended in 1875 and agencies for recruiting settlers were established on the mainland, but efforts to promote settlement ended soon after. In 1884,
Keelung in northern Taiwan was occupied during the
Sino-French War but the French forces failed to advance any further inland while their victory at Penghu in 1885 resulted in disease and retreat soon afterward as the war ended. Colonization efforts were renewed under
Liu Mingchuan. In 1887, Taiwan's status was upgraded to a
province.
Taipei became the permanent capital in 1893. Liu's efforts to increase revenues on Taiwan's produce were hampered by foreign pressure not to increase levies. A land reform was implemented, increasing revenue which still fell short of expectation. Modern technologies such as electric lighting, a railway, telegraph lines, steamship service, and industrial machinery were introduced under Liu's governance, but several of these projects had mixed results. A campaign to formally subjugate the Indigenous peoples ended with the loss of a third of the army after fierce resistance from the Mkgogan and Msbtunux peoples. Liu resigned in 1891 due to criticism of these costly projects. By the end of the Qing period, the western plains were fully developed as farmland with about 2.5 million Chinese settlers. The mountainous areas were still largely autonomous under the control of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous land loss under the Qing occurred at a relatively slow pace due to the absence of state-sponsored land deprivation for the majority of Qing rule.
Japanese rule (1895–1945) Following the Qing defeat in the
First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Taiwan, its associated islands, and the Penghu archipelago were ceded to
Japan by the
Treaty of Shimonoseki. Inhabitants wishing to remain Qing subjects had to move to mainland China within a two-year grace period, which few saw as feasible. Estimates say around 4,000 to 6,000 departed before the expiration of the grace period, and 200,000 to 300,000 followed during the subsequent disorder. On 25 May 1895, a group of pro-Qing high officials proclaimed the
Republic of Formosa to resist impending Japanese rule. Japanese forces entered the capital at Tainan and quelled this resistance on 21 October 1895. About 6,000 inhabitants died in the initial fighting and some 14,000 died in the first year of Japanese rule. Another 12,000 "bandit-rebels" were killed from 1898 to 1902. Subsequent rebellions against the Japanese (the
Beipu uprising of 1907, the
Tapani incident of 1915, and the
Musha incident of 1930) were unsuccessful but demonstrated opposition to Japanese rule. in Tainan in the 1930s The colonial period was instrumental to the industrialization of the island, with its expansion of railways and other transport networks, the building of an extensive sanitation system, the establishment of a formal
education system, and an end to the practice of
headhunting. The resources of Taiwan were used to aid the development of Japan. The production of
cash crops such as sugar greatly increased, and large areas were therefore diverted from the production of rice. By 1939, Taiwan was the seventh-greatest sugar producer in the world. The Han and Indigenous populations were classified as second- and third-class citizens, and many prestigious government and business positions were closed to them. After suppressing Han guerrillas in the first decade of their rule, Japanese authorities engaged in bloody campaigns against the Indigenous people residing in mountainous regions, culminating in the Musha Incident of 1930. Intellectuals and laborers who participated in left-wing movements were also arrested and massacred (e.g.
Chiang Wei-shui and
Masanosuke Watanabe). Around 1936, the Japanese governor-general
Seizō Kobayashi began an island-wide
assimilation project. Chinese-language newspapers were abolished. National
Shinto religion was promoted in parallel with the suppression traditional Taiwanese beliefs. By late 1940, when temple destruction in Taiwan had ended, the number of native temples had decreased by a third. Starting from 1940, families were also encouraged to adopt
Japanese surnames (a policy called
kaiseimei), although only slightly more than 2% had done so by 1943, and possibly about 7% by August 1945. During the Second World War, the island was developed into a naval and air base while its agriculture, industry, and commerce suffered. Air attacks and the subsequent invasion of the
Philippines were launched from Taiwan. The
Imperial Japanese Navy operated heavily from Taiwanese ports, and its think tank "
South Strike Group" was based at
Taihoku Imperial University. Military bases and industrial centers, such as
Kaohsiung and
Keelung, became targets of heavy
Allied bombings, which destroyed many of the factories, dams, and transport facilities built by the Japanese. In October 1944, the
Formosa Air Battle was fought between American carriers and Japanese forces in Taiwan. Over 200,000 of
Taiwanese served in the Japanese military, with over 30,000 casualties. Over 2,000 women, euphemistically called "
comfort women", were forced into sexual slavery for Imperial Japanese troops. After
Japan's surrender, most Japanese residents were
expelled.
Republic of China (1945–present) (right) accepting the receipt of
General Order No. 1 from
Rikichi Andō (left), the last Japanese governor-general of Taiwan, in
Taipei City Hall While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the
Republic of China was founded on
mainland China on 1 January 1912 following the
Xinhai Revolution of 1911. Central authority waxed and waned in response to
warlordism (1915–28),
Japanese invasion (1937–45), and the
Chinese Civil War (1927–49), with central authority strongest during the
Nanjing decade (1927–37), when most of China came under the control of the
Kuomintang (KMT). During
World War II, the 1943
Cairo Declaration specified that Formosa and the Pescadores be returned by Japan to the ROC; the terms were later repeated in the 1945
Potsdam Declaration that Japan agreed to carry out in
its instrument of surrender. On
25 October 1945, Japan surrendered Taiwan to the ROC, and in the
Treaty of San Francisco, Japan formally renounced their claims to the islands, though without specifying to whom they were surrendered. In the same year, Japan and the ROC signed
a peace treaty. While initially enthusiastic about the return of Chinese administration and the
Three Principles of the People, Formosans grew increasingly dissatisfied about being excluded from higher positions, the postponement of local elections even after the enactment of a
constitution on the mainland, the smuggling of valuables off the island, the expropriation of businesses into government-operated monopolies, and the
hyperinflation of 1945–1949. The shooting of a civilian on 28 February 1947 triggered island-wide unrest, which was suppressed with military force in what is now called the
February 28 incident. Mainstream estimates of the number killed range from 18,000 to 30,000. Chen was later replaced by
Wei Tao-ming, who made an effort to undo previous mismanagement by re-appointing a good proportion of islanders and re-privatizing businesses. After the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed. A series of Chinese Communist offensives in 1949 led to the capture of its capital
Nanjing on 23 April and the subsequent defeat of the Nationalists on the mainland. The Communists
founded the People's Republic of China on 1 October. On 7 December 1949,
Chiang Kai-Shek evacuated his Nationalist government to Taiwan and made Taipei the
temporary capital of the ROC. Some 2 million people, mainly soldiers, members of the ruling Kuomintang and intellectual and business elites, were evacuated to Taiwan, adding to the earlier population of approximately six million. These people and their descendants became known in Taiwan as
waishengren (). The ROC government took to Taipei many national treasures and much of China's
gold and foreign currency reserves. Most of the gold was used to pay soldiers' salaries, with some used to issue the
New Taiwan dollar, part of a price stabilization program to slow inflation in Taiwan. After losing control of mainland China in 1949, the ROC retained control of Taiwan and Penghu (
Taiwan, ROC), parts of Fujian (
Fujian, ROC)—specifically Kinmen,
Wuqiu (now part of Kinmen) and the Matsu Islands and two major
islands in the South China Sea. The ROC also briefly retained control of the entirety of
Hainan, parts of
Zhejiang (
Chekiang)—specifically the
Dachen Islands and
Yijiangshan Islands—and portions of
Tibet,
Qinghai,
Xinjiang and
Yunnan. The Communists
captured Hainan in 1950, captured the Dachen Islands and Yijiangshan Islands during the
First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955 and defeated the
ROC revolts in Northwest China in 1958. ROC forces entered Burma and Thailand in the 1950s and
were defeated by Communists in 1961. Since losing control of mainland China, the Kuomintang continued to claim sovereignty over 'all of China', which it defined to include mainland China (including Tibet), Taiwan (including Penghu),
Outer Mongolia, and
other minor territories.
Martial law era (1949–1987) , leader of the
Kuomintang from 1925 until his death in 1975|alt=A Chinese man in military uniform, smiling and looking towards the left. He holds a sword in his left hand and has a medal in shape of a sun on his chest.
Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949, continued to be in effect until 1987, and was used to suppress political opposition. During the
White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist. Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned or executed for their real or perceived link to the Chinese Communist Party. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was destroyed. Following the eruption of the
Korean War, US President
Harry S. Truman dispatched the
United States Seventh Fleet into the
Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities between the ROC and the PRC. The United States also passed the
Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty and the
Formosa Resolution of 1955, granting substantial
foreign aid to the KMT regime between 1951 and 1965. The US foreign aid stabilized prices in Taiwan by 1952. The KMT government instituted many laws and
land reforms that it had never effectively enacted on mainland China. Economic development was encouraged by American aid and programs such as the
Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction, which turned the agricultural sector into the basis for later growth. Under the combined stimulus of the land reform and the agricultural development programs, agricultural production increased at an average annual rate of 4 percent from 1952 to 1959. The government also implemented a policy of
import substitution industrialization, attempting to produce imported goods domestically. The policy promoted the development of textile, food, and other labor-intensive industries. As the Chinese Civil War continued, the government built up military fortifications throughout Taiwan. Veterans built the
Central Cross-Island Highway through the
Taroko Gorge in the 1950s. During the
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1958,
Nike Hercules missiles were added to the formation of missile batteries throughout the island. waved to crowds during his visit to Taipei in June 1960. During the 1960s and 1970s, the ROC maintained an authoritarian, single-party government under the Kuomintang's
Dang Guo system while its economy became industrialized and technology-oriented. This rapid economic growth, known as the
Taiwan Miracle, occurred following a strategy of prioritizing agriculture, light industries, and heavy industries, in that order.
Export-oriented industrialization was achieved by tax rebate for exports, removal of import restriction, moving from multiple exchange rate to single exchange rate system, and depreciation of the New Taiwan dollar.
Infrastructure projects such as the
Sun Yat-sen Freeway,
Taoyuan International Airport,
Taichung Harbor, and
Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant were launched, while the rise of steel, petrochemical, and shipbuilding industries in southern Taiwan saw the transformation of Kaohsiung into a special municipality on par with Taipei. In the 1970s, Taiwan became the second fastest growing economy in Asia. Real growth in
GDP averaged over 10 percent. In 1978, the combination of tax incentives and a cheap, well-trained labor force attracted investments of over $1.9 billion from
overseas Chinese, the United States, and Japan. By 1980, foreign trade reached $39 billion per year and generated a surplus of $46.5 million. Along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, Taiwan became known as one of the
Four Asian Tigers. Because of the Cold War, most Western nations and the United Nations regarded the ROC as the sole legitimate government of China until the 1970s. Eventually, especially after
Taiwan's expulsion from the United Nations, most nations switched
diplomatic recognition to the PRC. Until the 1970s, the ROC government was regarded by Western critics as undemocratic for upholding martial law, severely repressing any political opposition, and controlling the media. The KMT did not allow the creation of new parties and competitive democratic elections did not exist. From the late 1970s to the 1990s, Taiwan underwent political and social reforms that transformed it into a democracy.
Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son, served as
premier from 1972 and rose to the presidency in 1978. He sought to move more authority to "
bensheng ren" (residents of Taiwan before Japan's surrender and their descendants). Pro-democracy activists
Tangwai emerged as the opposition. In 1979, the
Kaohsiung Incident took place in
Kaohsiung on
Human Rights Day. Although the protest was rapidly crushed by the authorities, it is considered as the main event that united Taiwan's opposition. In 1984, Chiang Ching-kuo selected
Lee Teng-hui as his vice-president. After the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was (illegally) founded as the first opposition party in Taiwan to counter the KMT in 1986, Chiang announced that he would allow the formation of new parties. On 15 July 1987, Chiang lifted martial law on the main island of Taiwan.
Transition to democracy became the first president of the Republic of China born in Taiwan and was the first to be directly elected in 1996. After Chiang Ching-kuo's death in 1988,
Lee Teng-hui became the first president of the ROC born in Taiwan. Lee's administration oversaw a period of
democratization in which the
Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion were abolished and the
Additional Articles of the Constitution were introduced. Congressional representation was allocated to only the
Taiwan Area, and Taiwan underwent a process of
localization in which Taiwanese culture and history were promoted over a
pan-China viewpoint while
assimilationist policies were replaced with support for
multiculturalism. In 1996, Lee was re-elected in
the first direct presidential election. During Lee's administration, both he and his party were involved in corruption controversies that came to be known as "
black gold" politics.
Chen Shui-bian of the DPP was
elected as the first non-KMT president in 2000. However, Chen lacked legislative majority. The opposition KMT developed the
Pan-Blue Coalition with other parties, mustering a slim majority over the DPP-led
Pan-Green Coalition. Polarized politics emerged in Taiwan with the Pan-Blue preference for eventual
Chinese unification, while the Pan-Green prefers
Taiwanese independence. Chen's reference to "
One Country on Each Side" of the Taiwan Strait undercut
cross-Strait relations in 2002. He pushed for the
first national referendum on cross-Strait relations, and called for an end to the
National Unification Council. State-run companies began dropping "China" references in their names and including "Taiwan". In 2008,
referendums asked whether Taiwan should join the UN. This act alienated moderate constituents who supported the status quo, as well as those with cross-strait economic ties. It also created tension with the mainland and disagreements with the United States. Chen's administration was also dogged by public concerns over reduced economic growth, legislative gridlock, and
corruption investigations. The PRC government even made the atypical decision to not demand that Taiwan be barred from the annual
World Health Assembly. Ma also made an official apology for the White Terror. However, closer economic ties with China raised concerns about its political consequences. In 2014, university students occupied the Legislative Yuan and prevented the ratification of the
Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement in what became known as the
Sunflower Student Movement. The movement gave rise to youth-based third parties such as the
New Power Party, and is viewed to have contributed to the DPP's victories in the
2016 presidential and
legislative elections, the latter of which resulted in the first DPP legislative majority in Taiwanese history. In January 2024,
William Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan's
presidential elections. However, no party won a majority in the simultaneous Taiwan's
legislative election for the first time since 2004, meaning 51 seats for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), 52 seats for the Kuomintang (KMT), and the
Taiwan People's Party (TPP) secured eight seats. ==Geography==